Friday, December 30, 2005

Bills like this are causing the costs of public education to skyrocket. This is a TERRIBLE Bill that should be stopped.

Per the session information website:

Student health measurements. Requires each school corporation to report certain student health data to the state department of health beginning in 2007. Requires the state department to publish an annual report summarizing the data. (The introduced version of this bill was prepared by the health finance commission).This idiotic Bill will require EVERY school corporation to annually report to the state department of health the height, weight, ethnicity, age, and sex of the school corporation's students.

This is another stupid idea that will only further increase our property taxes.

This Bill was written by Senator Dillon from Columbia City. He is a Republican. This is a great example of how out of touch the Republcian Party is with its smaller government stance of 1994...

Miscellaneous election law matters. Provides that the fee a person must pay to receive a complete compilation of voter registration information contained in the statewide voter registration list is an annual fee and includes the price for receiving updates of voter registration information throughout the year. Provides that an election official may not receive an election law filing that is offered to be filed after a deadline for the filing unless election law provides for the filing after the deadline. Provides that a vacancy in a legislative office last held by an individual who was not a member of a major political party shall be filled in a special election. Requires the county executive to file a copy of an approved precinct establishment order with the county auditor. Provides that a precinct establishment order issued after June 30, 2005, complies with certain polling place accessibility requirements if the order: (1) includes a statement that the precinct meets the requirements; or (2) states that before April 1, 2006, the county will designate a polling place for the precinct that meets the requirements. Conforms statutes to recognize the requirement in current law for electronic transmittal of data between license branches and the statewide voter registration list. Removes or repeals expired, superseded, or obsolete provisions of election law. Corrects erroneous cross-references. Makes technical changes. Updates election schedules. (The introduced version of this bill was prepared by the census data advisory committee.)

This Bill only has one objectionable portion. The objectionable portion is “Provides that a vacancy in a legislative office last held by an individual who was not a member of a major political party shall be filled in a special election.” What this means is if a vacancy occurs in an office that a Democrat or Republican holds, the Democratic or Republican Party will appoint a person of their choice to fill the seat. If a Libertarian (Or other Third Party) candidate holds an office and a vacancy occurs there will be a special election.

This is of course patently unfair. What is good for one party should be good for all.

Per the online session information this misguided Senate Bill will make it so that:Provides that a person may not be required, as a condition of training, employment, pay, promotion, or privileges, to dispense: (1) a medical device or drug that may result in an abortion; or (2) a birth control device or medication.

This Bill came about because a few pharmacists feel that they should be allowed to pick and choose which drugs and devices they dispense.

I understand that some pharmacists have religious convictions that may cause them to believe that abortion and birth control are wrong. We all have our own opinions and I respect other people’s opinions.

Pharmacists should dispense the drugs and devices that are prescribed by Doctors. That is the job of a pharmacist, PERIOD.

If I owned a pharmacy and one of my pharmacists refused to issue birth control pills to one of our customers, I would fire the pharmacist. Senate Bill 0004 would make it so the pharmacist could not be fired in the above situation.

Imagine this situation if you would. Let’s say a Doctor prescribes birth control pills to a woman to help her regulate her period so she can get pregnant. Can you imagine this woman going to a pharmacy to fill this prescription and having a pharmacist refuse to fill the prescription? I imagine the woman in question would have a strong reaction against the pharmacist and the pharmacy. I would not blame her.

Imagine this situation if you would. Let’s say a group of people who are against abortion and birth control decide to all apply for jobs at Planned Parenthood. Let’s assume that some of these people get hired by Planned Parenthood. Does that mean these new employees can refuse to assist people who want to obtain an abortion or birth control devices?

We need less government regulation. Regulation is driving up the costs of everything. This Bill needs to die a painful death.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Per the Session information provided on the Indiana website SB 0003 will:

Establish standards for a mobile camp provided by a railroad company for maintenance of way employees.

This is another example of how out of control and out of touch the Indiana government is. There is no reason that the this bill should exist.

This bill changes the rules that dictate what kind of shelter and facilities the railroad must provide to its maintenance employees when they are at a temporary location. This bill specifies wash basins and all kinds of other things. The Indiana government has much larger issues to dea with.

Let the railroads and their employees figure this out without government involvement.Let’s pay off Indiana’s shameful and unconstitutional debt, let’s pay off the local payments that were deferred, and let’s fix real problems in the State!

Per the Session information provided on the Indiana website SB 0002 will:

Permit a sheriff or the Indianapolis police chief to visit the listed residence of a sex offender to determine if the sex offender resides at the residence. Prohibits a sex offender who is required to register for life with the sex offender registry after June 30, 2006, from residing within 1,000 feet of school property or from establishing a new residence within one mile of the residence of the victim. Makes it a Class D felony to rent matter that is harmful to a minor within 500 feet of a school or church.

I really do not like sex offenders and I want to see them spend long time periods in prison. This Bill will only effect a grand total of 48 registered violent sex offenders that are currently residing in Indiana.

I tend to think this Bill is being passed just to allow our beloved politicians to pass another law so that they can run home this Spring and tell their constituents how much safer their children are…

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

According to the Indiana Bureau of Education 91% of all Hoosier children are enrolled in public schools, 7% are enrolled in private schools, and 2% are being home schooled during the 2005-2006 school year.

Stats Indiana tracks school enrollment data county by county; the most recent data they have is for the 2004-2005 school year. Stats Indiana excludes home schooled children from its database. 34.6% of all children in Allen County are enrolled in private schools!

If you include children who are home schooled in these statistics then fewer then 64% of all children in Allen County are attending Public Schools; in fact, Allen County has the highest percentage of children enrolled in private schools in the entire state. Allen County has 5.4% of the total population of Indiana. Allen County has 21.3% of all children enrolled in Private schools in Indiana.

I believe that parental involvement is the key to a successful public education system. I often hear that we do not have enough parental involvement in our local schools. I find that statement to be completely untrue, at least in Allen County.

34.6% of all children in Allen County are enrolled by their parents in Private Schools. These parents spend their hard earned money to pay both their property taxes (to fund Public Schools) and these same parents pay fees to the Private schools their children attend. These parents feel that their children can get a better education in Private schools then Public schools. I think it is obvious that this shows a great deal of parental concern and involvement in their child’s education.

2% of all children in Allen County are Home Schooled by their parents. These parents pay property taxes to fund the Public School system and they spend a great deal of their own time and money to educate their children themselves. These parents are extremely concerned with their children’s education.

I think that these statistics demonstrate that a large number of parents in Allen County care deeply about the education of their children. I attended Public Schools in Allen County. I know that many parents of Public School children also care deeply about the education of their children. I think that parents in Allen County should be given a great deal of credit.

For some reason that I cannot fathom our Public Education system insists that the only way to improve our school system is to spend increasing amounts of money on education every year. Per the Indiana Department of Education’s website we are spending twice as much money per student as we were spending twenty five years ago. This statistic takes into account for and adjusts for inflation.

Spending more money every year is not the way to improve our Public School system.

Property taxes are increasing at an alarming pace all across Allen County. In Perry Township, our property taxes increased on average 63% last year. The final numbers are not in yet for this year; however, I am estimating that our property taxes will be increasing another 18% in Perry Township this year.

I am a product of the Public School system. My children will attend public schools in Northwest Allen County. I will do my best to help improve the Northwest Allen County School District. We have great teachers and we need to let them spend their time teaching students instead of following silly regulations dictated by Indianapolis and Washington D.C.

I have decided to run for The Northwest Allen County School Board in 2006. I want my children to receive a good education at a price that the property tax payers can afford. Please feel free to contact me by phone at 260-338-0833 or by email at Mike.Sylvester@Verizon.net if you would like to learn more about my campaign for School Board.

Mike SylvesterPresident of The Valley Place Homeowner’s AssociationCandidate for Northwest Allen County School Board in 2006

Monday, December 26, 2005

First of all the bill is needlessly complex and should be simplified! This is true of every bill these lawyers (Legislators) pass. I had to spend over an hour reading the bill to understand what it proposes to do.

The State of Indiana makes most of the child welfare rules, many of the employees are State employees, and the State of Indiana should be the one to pay for all of these rules and bureaucracy they are creating. The Child Welfare levies are a good example of a State mandate that should be funded by the State.

I am not a lawyer and I may have mis-read part of the bill. Here is what I think it is trying to do:

House Bill 1001 is an attempt to TEMPORARILY transfer the child welfare levies in Indiana from the local governments (Property Taxes) to the State of Indiana starting July 1st 2006 through December 31st 2009. Starting Jan 1st 2010 the bill then forces local governments to once again fund these State programs through means other then property taxes. (Only the government and our current politicians could come up with a scheme like this. This program should be funded be the State forever!)

In the first HALF of 2006 and all of 2007 all residential and agricultural property would not be forced to pay the child welfare levies, instead the State would pay it.

In 2008 the remainder of all agricultural property would no longer have to pay these levies through property taxes; instead the State would pay it.

In 2009 50% of the levies would no longer be paid on all other property, instead the State would pay that 50%.

The next part of the law is the stupid part of this law that only politicians could come up with. Starting Jan 1st 2010 the State will STOP funding the Child Welfare Levies and the counties and local governments will start funding it again. The counties and local governments will have to again fund the levies using a portion of current local revenues from the Financial Institutions Tax (An 8.5% income tax on many financial institutions) and County Motor Vehicle Excise Tax.

What the State SHOULD do is The State should fund the Child Welfare levies themselves!Remember back in 2002 when The State raised the Sales tax to 6% from 5% to reduce property taxes? I remember it. I hope you all remember it and vote ALL current officials out of office and vote in some new ones. If they do not fix it then vote them out of office.

Friday, December 23, 2005

The Northeast Indiana Corporate Council is a group of executives whose stated goal is to “Promote the common business interests, growth, opportunity, and general economic welfare for businesses in northeastern Indiana.”

The Northeast Indiana Corporate Council is fed up with the inability of The City of Fort Wayne and Allen County to get along and to consolidate and reduce the size of government. The Council submitted a shockingly frank editorial this week that basically states how the Council is tired of all the arguing and how they want The City of Fort Wayne and Allen County to consolidate some services and to shrink the size of government.

Furthermore, the Council is asking that "as a new election year appraoches, lets support only those candidates who commit to the efficient and effective use of tax dollars and then hold them accountable."This is an exciting time to be a Libertarian in this region. The Northeast Indiana Corporate Council (A group of 41 prominent CEO's in this area) has told local officials that they need to shrink government and at the same time is suggesting that we only support those candidates willing to shrink government.

Wow...

You can rest assured that I will contact this group and see if there is any way I can help them!

Posted on Wed, Dec. 21, 2005The obstinance of local politicians impedes progress and stalls growth of our economyWhat’s in a headline? “County Considers Evicting City After Renaissance Delay”How about other headlines that have appeared this year?“City/County Can’t Get Over Glass Wall”“Can’t We Just Get Along”“Sheriff’s Earnings Top $200,000”“County Awaits City Office Plans”“Consultant May Be Hired”“There Is No Accounting For Space”“Time Is Running Out”We at the Northeast Indiana Corporate Council certainly agree with the last one – time is running out.Who reads these headlines, anyway? Well, site selectors and consultants who advise clients on possible relocation sites do. The Northeast Indiana Corporate Council sees the inability of governments to work together as a serious roadblock to economic development and the unwillingness of many elected officials to seriously consider government cooperation – let alone consolidation – as a travesty.We are paying a dear price for all of this bickering and almost no cooperation. We would like to see more headlines like “City-County Breakthrough,” which appeared when an agreement was reached in principle to have only one countywide homeland-security executive.Instead of debating whether the city should move from the City-County Building into Lincoln Financial Group’s former Renaissance Square headquarters, they should be trying to consolidate and shrink the size of government as businesses have to do every day to survive. An initial study assumed a 10 percent growth in city government. We support the comments of County Council President Darren Vogt, who said, “I struggle to see the need for consistent growth in government. . . . Let’s step back and see what’s the financial impact.”City Council President Tom Smith pointed out that if the city buys the Renaissance building, it will become tax-exempt, resulting in $400,000 to $500,000 in lost property taxes per year. Taxpayers, both business and individuals, must demand a simple accounting. Let’s see a simple comparison. On one side of the ledger, let’s list all of the properties owned and leased by the city and county. Then compare the financial change in total if the Renaissance building is acquired and other leases canceled or buildings sold. Let’s not forget all the additional move-related expenses.We all pay county taxes, and, on Jan. 1, approximately 75 percent of us will also pay city taxes. The Renaissance move may very well be a shell game – moving our tax dollars from one government to the next. We all deserve to see how buying another city building for millions will save the taxpayer money. It’s likely the same “logic” that built several new fire stations for Fort Wayne to serve Aboite Township, where perfectly good facilities and equipment met the needs of the township. Who picks up the tab for the newfound overcapacity after annexation?The Allen County Council showed prudence in rejecting the sheriff’s request to buy a warehouse for $750,000 to $850,000 and renovate it for another estimated $1.8 million. Let’s spend our tax dollars determining how to rationalize two local law enforcement agencies instead.Indiana political columnist Brian Howey asked the question, “Will Indiana become an economic backwater? Or will it modernize its state, county and local governments?” All it takes is a review of Indiana’s largest employers to clearly see the problem:U.S. government is No. 1 with 33,511The state of Indiana is second with 13,868Fort Wayne Community Schools ranks 22 with 4,158 employeesFort Wayne and Allen County government employment combined reaches nearly 3,700Contrast this with No. 8 General Motors at 10,826 and No. 12 Delphi at 6,540 and think about how they are fighting to survive.We at the Northeast Indiana Corporate Council believe it is time for the Indiana General Assembly to allow local governments the ability to evaluate and enact a more effective and efficient form of local government structure. We will strongly encourage local government to rationalize existing redundancies and create a leadership structure that will stimulate economic growth.Let’s hold local politicians to their word. On Jan. 26, 2004, in a joint resolution of the Fort Wayne City Council and the Allen County Council, local officials, including the three county commissioners and the city’s deputy mayor, signed a historic document. They all indicated support for the Indiana General Assembly examining local-government structure. Among other statements, it said, “The financial conditions of state government and most local units of government in Indiana dictate examining new, possibly more efficient approaches to providing public services. . . . The need to create and maintain a competitive tax climate that is supportive of the economic-development objectives of this state requires examining ways to improve local government structure and efficiency.” They also noted only eight other states have more units of local civic government – counties, cities and townships – than Indiana.As a new election year approaches, let’s support only those candidates who commit to the efficient and effective use of tax dollars and then hold them accountable.Written by Tom Miller, president of Lutheran Health Network; Bob Taylor, CEO of Do It Best Inc., and Northeast Indiana Corporate Council President Kirk Kemmish on behalf of the corporate council, a regional group of 41 CEOs whose mission is to promote the common business interests, growth, opportunity and general economic welfare for businesses in northeastern Indiana.

The winner was shrinking the size of government by putting it on a diet with 14 votes (40%).2nd was a Statewide referendum so that the voters can choose one time zone for the state with 9 votes (26%).Lowering property taxes was 3rd with 7 votes (20%).Last was deleting some of Indiana's excess laws with 5 votes (14%).

I certainly would not have expected the time zone issue to be second place...

Aaron Nicodemus wrote a frightening article in The Standard-Times on December 17th, 2005. I have included that article below my comments, Aaron's article is in italics.So Homeland Security now has a watch list of books that includes at least one book on communism. If you check out a book on this watchlist you can be visited by Homeland Security agents.

I love my country; but, I no longer trust my government. They are slowly but surely expanding the power of government and eroding our civil liberties. This is outrageous.

What do you think?

Agents' visit chills UMass Dartmouth senior By AARON NICODEMUS, Standard-Times staff writer NEW BEDFORD -- A senior at UMass Dartmouth was visited by federal agents two months ago, after he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's tome on Communism called "The Little Red Book." Two history professors at UMass Dartmouth, Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand, said the student told them he requested the book through the UMass Dartmouth library's interlibrary loan program. The student, who was completing a research paper on Communism for Professor Pontbriand's class on fascism and totalitarianism, filled out a form for the request, leaving his name, address, phone number and Social Security number. He was later visited at his parents' home in New Bedford by two agents of the Department of Homeland Security, the professors said. The professors said the student was told by the agents that the book is on a "watch list," and that his background, which included significant time abroad, triggered them to investigate the student further. "I tell my students to go to the direct source, and so he asked for the official Peking version of the book," Professor Pontbriand said. "Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring inter-library loans, because that's what triggered the visit, as I understand it." Although The Standard-Times knows the name of the student, he is not coming forward because he fears repercussions should his name become public. He has not spoken to The Standard-Times. The professors had been asked to comment on a report that President Bush had authorized the National Security Agency to spy on as many as 500 people at any given time since 2002 in this country. The eavesdropping was apparently done without warrants. The Little Red Book, is a collection of quotations and speech excerpts from Chinese leader Mao Tse-Tung. In the 1950s and '60s, during the Cultural Revolution in China, it was required reading. Although there are abridged versions available, the student asked for a version translated directly from the original book. The student told Professor Pontbriand and Dr. Williams that the Homeland Security agents told him the book was on a "watch list." They brought the book with them, but did not leave it with the student, the professors said. Dr. Williams said in his research, he regularly contacts people in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other Muslim hot spots, and suspects that some of his calls are monitored. "My instinct is that there is a lot more monitoring than we think," he said. Dr. Williams said he had been planning to offer a course on terrorism next semester, but is reconsidering, because it might put his students at risk. "I shudder to think of all the students I've had monitoring al-Qaeda Web sites, what the government must think of that," he said. "Mao Tse-Tung is completely harmless." Contact Aaron Nicodemus at anicodemus@s-t.com This story appeared on Page A9 of The Standard-Times on December 17, 2005.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

NIPSCO held a meeting in Fort Wayne last night to give Fort Wayne customers the opportunity to voice their opinions (Displeasure) about the COmpany's request to exptend its Winter Warmth program for an additional year.

The Winter Warmth program forced every NIPSCO customer to pay 50 cents per month into a fund NIPSCO could then use to help low-income families pay for gas. This was passed last year and only lasted for one year. (It was a temporary tax levied by NIPSCO not The State)

Now NIPSCO wants to exptend it for another year and make us all pay 65 cents per month.

I give to charity. I give what I want to the charities I choose. I do not want NIPSCO deciding where my charity money goes and how much I should give, the very idea is ABSURD and is un-American. NIPSCO should stop this "temporary tax" at once.

Monday, December 19, 2005

I hope to see many of you tonight at The Munchie Emporium! I plan on going early and having supper at The Munchie Emporium. I will be there around 6 PM.

The meeting is in the back room of The Munchie Emporium at 622 E. Dupont & Coldwater -- Map. All are welcome.6pm: Dinner7pm: Games and conversation.8pm: Business meeting.

The Mike Downs Center and Leadership Fort Wayne is conducting a two day political boot camp for those who want to run for public office (Hopefully MANY of you) and those who want to work actively on a campaign (Hopefully even more of you).

This seminar will be held in The Omni Room in the City County Building. The seminar runs from 5 PM - 9 PM on both Jan 9th and Jan 23rd.

Thanks for participating in the poll. The poll is certainly NOT scientific. Most of the regular readers of this blog are Libertarians or small government conservatives (An endangered species).

I thought the results were interesting considering the political affiliation of most of the readers of this blog. There are two results that I find especially interesting:1. I am amazed that 20 people voted that we should have a statewide referendum and vote on one time zone for the entire state (Note I feel this way, I am just surprised how many of you feel this way).2. I am extremely surprised that more people did not vote to expand gambling and to legalize "Cherry Masters." I would have expected these to get more votes.

The results are below:

Indiana government is too large, cut spending.23 votesLower my property taxes.25 votesWe have too many laws in Indiana, delete some.24 votesWe should legalize "Cherry Masters."13 votesWe should expand gambling in The State of Indiana.8 votesWe should crack down on "Cherry Masters," they are illegal!4 votesWe need to spend more money on education!6 votesRaise taxes so that the State government can help those who need it most.1 voteSmoking costs Hoosiers billions of dollars, we should make them pay higher taxes to purchase their cigarettes.7 votesMitch Daniels was right, we should impose a "temporary tax" of 1% on all income produced by Hoosier families who make more then $100,000 a year.3 votesWe should have a statewide referendum and choose one time zone for the entire state.20 votesNIPSCO should be authorized to raise the heating bills of ALL Hoosiers even more so it can subsidize heating for the poor!1 voteNIPSCO is already charging a tax to all HOOSIERS to help pay into a fund to subsidize poor Hoosiers heating bills, this should be revoked.14 votesThe state should pass bills that allow local governments more control.15 votesHoosier seat belt laws should be expanded!3 votes

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

It is certainly a tragic day in Fort Wayne. 10 year-old Alejandra Gutierrez is still missing (She has been missing for 5 days) and now a mother and her three children are found dead in Fort Wayne. This is truly a tragic day and my heart goes out to these people and their friends and family.

I have posted the most recent story as reported by The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette below:

Posted on Tue, Dec. 13, 2005Woman, 3 children found dead in S. Calhoun St. homeBy Amanda IaconeThe Journal GazettePolice found the bodies of a woman and three young girls in a South Calhoun Street home early Tuesday morning after receiving a report of suicide threats.Fort Wayne officers arrived at 4122 S. Calhoun St. shortly after 5 a.m. and found a man standing on the front porch of the home. The man did not speak English, and police only knew that there was a problem inside, police said.Officers entered the one-story gray house and found the bodies, and medics pronounced them dead at the scene.The unnamed man was taken to police headquarters for questioning by a Spanish-speaking detective, police said. During the early portion of the interview, police learned some type of domestic dispute had occurred at the home, but police refused to confirm the relationship between the man in custody and the dead woman.Neighbors said a man, his wife and three daughters lived in the house. The neighbors were not aware of any problems with the family, adding that two of the girls were too young to be attending school, while the oldest girl was elementary-school age.At 10:15 a.m., police were still milling about outside the home and had not re-entered the home to continue their investigation. The crowd of interested onlookers continued to grow all morning.No names had been released by 10:15 a.m.The investigation was happening on South Calhoun Street less than a block south of the school bus stop where 10-year-old Alejandra Gutierrez was headed Thursday but never arrived. Despite the close proximity, police do not believe the Tuesday morning events have anything to do with the ongoing search for the missing girl.Additional information, as it becomes available, will be posted at www.journalgazette.net later today.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Karen Francisco wrote a great piece in the Sunday Journal Gazette entitled "mandate mania". I have included a copy of her article below.

Karen hit this one right on the nose. The State of Indiana currently imposes over 1300 pages of rules on all public school systems. The cost of complying with this pile of needless rules grows every year.

The Federal government also imposes a multitide of needless rules on all school districts as well.

If we were to eliminate just HALF of these rules I am sure the cost of education would decrease by a large amount.

Unfortunately, neither The Republican or Democratic Party's feel this way; instead, both parties keep passing new and needless rules... They just never seem to end.

Mandate mania Schools endure crushing demands on time, resources By Karen Francisco The Journal GazetteWhen Indiana legislators convene next month, among the bills they will consider is one requiring school districts to weigh and measure each student for an annual report to the Indiana Department of Health.Not a bad idea given the epidemic of childhood obesity, right?But what won’t get weighed is the crushing burden of requirements already dumped on schools, including:•Immunization reporting.•Statewide testing.•Alcohol and drug prevention instruction.•Visual screening tests.•Mandatory moment of silence.Each session of the Indiana General Assembly adds more to a volume of “Indiana School Laws and Rules,” which already exceeds 1,300 pages. More important, the volume of mandates encroaches on the ability of schools to meet their primary obligation to teach.Superintendent Mark Stock of Wawasee Community Schools compares it to a plate at the church potluck.“We’ve piled on all we can and the Styrofoam is about to break,” he said.On his daily blogsite, “the Wawascene,” the superintendent noted the inevitable adoption of the body-mass index reporting requirement:“Here we go again … another social need that is now being handed off to the public schools,” he wrote. “This bill will pass because it sounds harmless and helpful. It shouldn’t take too long to weigh, measure, record on spreadsheets and upload to the state every student in the school, should it? No place in this bill does it tell the teachers what previous state-mandated curriculum they are supposed to ignore while they implement the latest big fat mandate.”Stock notes that the mandates continue to flow, regardless of who’s in power, because of the layers of political influence on public schools. When conservatives rule, the mandates are for mandatory recitation of the Pledge, display of the American flag, a moment of silence, intelligent design instruction; when liberals rule, the requirements cover different social issues.Schools as labsThe mandates certainly aren’t unique to Indiana. Education consultant Jamie Vollmer traces the onerous requirements in a timeline: He includes – among many others – immunization and health requirements at the turn of the last century; vocational education, school lunches and physical education between 1920 and 1940; driver’s education and sex education in the ’50s; consumer education and Advanced Placement courses in the ’60s; character education and drug and alcohol abuse programs in the ’70s; child abuse monitoring, global education, keyboarding in the ’80s. … The list goes on and on.In a Washington Post article published last month, author Noel Epstein argues that public schools have evolved into child-rearing institutions, or “something closer in that respect to the Israeli kibbutz, or commune.” They are expected to provide before- and after-school programs, breakfast and lunch. They are expected to keep kids off drugs, to discourage them from smoking and from joining gangs. They are expected to ensure kids are vaccinated and weapon-free.“The hard part is, they are all good ideas,” said John Ellis, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. “Mostly, they are good-minded people who come up with these. If you want a captive audience for your program, you look to the schools.”Superintendent Stock recalled a community group that approached him with an instructional video for fourth-graders. It looks great, he told the group members. Then he offered to set up a meeting with the district’s fourth-grade teachers so the community group could help decide what should no longer be taught to make time for it. That wasn’t what the community members expected, of course.“You would have to be a teacher to know the impact these requirements have on the classroom,” Stock said. “Everyone thinks, ‘it’s just going to take an hour,’ but they never want to take anything off the other end.”The last legislative session saw a considerable number of education-related bills. One successful measure was a bullying- prevention bill authored by Sen. Thomas Wyss, R-Fort Wayne. It doesn’t mandate the use of instructional time, but Ellis said the measure still has that effect in requiring school principals to tend to its administrative provisions – time that could be spent on instructional leadership.Wyss defended the law as a much-needed recognition of the effect of bullying on student achievement, and said educators always resist such proposals.“That’s the typical answer out of schools,” he said. “They always say they’ve got too much to do. What mandate is (the bullying law) to them? To cause them extra work?“I completely understand what they are saying about taking time away from the students, but there are 160,000 kids in America who miss school every day because of bullying,” Wyss said. “All of those things that are so important to teach can’t happen if the kids aren’t there.”For Stock, the fundamental question is what people want their public schools to do. He said surveys at Wawasee showed parents and community members want an emphasis on basic instruction.“I think that is a big enough mission for schools,” he said. “You can’t be all things to all people.”SolutionsThere are indications that the crush of mandates and requirements might have reached a tipping point. Ellis, of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, said that over the last year, four different groups were looking at ways to reduce the red tape and requirements imposed on Indiana schools. The Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University is surveying superintendents on school regulations, and the information will be used in drafting a bill to address the proliferation of mandates.In the 2006 legislative program by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, Item No. 2 calls for “balancing mandates with time and funding.”“Legislation to impose additional responsibilities on the public schools should focus on desired results without adding additional regulations and should include relief from already imposed statutes and regulations,” according to the group’s statement.Stock would like to see the addition of a “curriculum impact statement.” It would require any legislative proposal dealing with schools to note how it would affect the existing curriculum. Ellis takes it even further, suggesting the impact should be determined in terms of Indiana’s academic standards.Educators might find a sympathetic supporter in Gov. Mitch Daniels, who responded to a House Republican proposal to require the teaching of intelligent design by saying that his policy would be to “remove mandates from education to leave local school boards, principals and teachers more freedom.”Author Epstein points to the efforts some states are making to separate academic instruction from the delivery of health and social services. The new model is School of the 21st Century, which originated with Yale University Professor Edward F. Zigler, the “father of Head Start.” It brings child care and family support services into the schools, but leaves the non-academic services to social workers, health professionals and others. Teachers are allowed to teach.Kentucky and Connecticut have established Family Resource Centers based on the 21st Century model. More than 1,300 schools nationwide have implemented the concept, including a network of schools in Arkansas.It’s an initiative Indiana policymakers should examine. Schools need the freedom to focus on education. Yet they also need the rest of the community to provide services that will keep students safe, healthy and prepared to learn. The struggle over mandates will end only when that balance is achieved.School assignmentsExamples of regulations pertaining to Indiana schools:•“A test to determine postural defects shall be administered to each public school student in the fifth, seventh, and ninth grades.”•“Not earlier than January 15 or later than January 31 of each year, the governing body of a school corporation shall publish an annual performance report of the school corporation, in compliance with the procedures identified in section 8 of this chapter.”•“Each school corporation shall include in its curriculum instruction concerning the disease known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and shall integrate this effort to the extent possible with instruction on other dangerous communicable diseases.”•“The governing body of every school corporation shall annually conduct an audiometer test or a similar test to determine the hearing efficiency of all school children in the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth grades, of all transferred school children and of all school children suspected of having hearing defects.”•“The state board of education shall require the singing of the entire national anthem, ‘Star Spangled Banner,’ in each school on all patriotic occasions and shall arrange to supply the words and music in sufficient quantity for these purposes.”Source: Indiana Code

Friday, December 09, 2005

Please take the time to vote in this poll. The poll will close in one week (Dec 16th). Each person can only vote in this poll one time. You may vote for as many of the 15 items as you wish!

I am not sure that I like how this poll is setup. It is yet another experiment...

Please feel free to post links to this poll, invite your friends and family to vote, and comment on this poll. I am really curious as to what the priorities of those people who read my blog are for this next session.

I have closed the Fort Wayne downtown hotel poll. It was on my blog for one week. Each person was allowed to vote only one time. This is not a scientific poll since it is only polling those people who visit my blog. The people who visit my blog TEND to be Libertarians and small government Republicans (The few that are left).

The question:Do you think The City of Fort Wayne should spend taxpayer money to build a new hotel in downtown Fort Wayne?

Your responses:Yes, this hotel will spur downtown development. 9 votes or 15%.Maybe, I am not sure.5 votes or 8%.No, if a hotel made economic sense a business would build the hotel on their own. 47 votes or 77%.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

December 7, 2005EducationIndiana teachers' pay lagsSalaries for educators fall short of U.S. average, study finds

By Jon Murrayjon.murray@indystar.comIndiana's 60,000 public school teachers have been losing ground in pay compared with their peers nationwide, a growing gap educators say could hamper the wave of hiring expected as retirements swell over the next decade.A National Education Association report released this week says salaries for teachers have failed to keep up with inflation in 41 states, including Indiana.Related links• National Education Association salary survey

During the 2004-05 school year, Hoosier teachers were paid an average salary of $46,591 -- 17th in the nation and a 1.7 percent increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, the cost of living increased 3.1 percent.Indiana teacher salaries fell short of the national average, $47,808, and the state has been slipping."The real problem that underlies it is that we may no longer be able to attract the most qualified people to teaching," said Dan Clark. He is deputy director of the Indiana State Teachers Association, which is affiliated with the national teachers' union. "The trend is not positive here."In the 2002-03 school year, Indiana's average salary was 98.2 percent of the national average. Last year, it was 97.4 percent of the national average.The report does not account for teachers' benefits or cost of living differences between states, but several education advocates and officials said it highlights a challenge for Indiana.Some estimates predict 30 percent of Indiana's teachers will retire by 2015, Clark said. Lower-than-average salaries could complicate efforts to replace them."We've always been well-supplied, but there's more competition and more mobility today than ever before," said Suellen Reed, the state's superintendent of public instruction. "If a young person is a science teacher and they can choose making $25,000 in Indiana or making $30,000 working somewhere else . . . they may decide to go somewhere else."Over time, the salary report says, Indiana teachers' pay has barely kept up with inflation. From 1994 to 2004, Indiana salaries increased 0.9 percent once the cost of living was factored in; nationwide, the increase was 2.9 percent.Michigan, Illinois and Ohio rank above the national average, while Kentucky is 34th.Don Hanlin, a Center Grove High School government teacher who has been teaching since 1967, thinks the quality of teacher applicants has gone down over time, because the best candidates often pick jobs that pay better."Talented people have so many resources, particularly talented women," he said. "We used to have women who were valedictorians and salutatorians in high school who became teachers, but they're not going into teaching anymore. We're in a much more competitive market now."Kimberly Williams, 32, a nine-year math veteran who earns about $50,000 at the Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School in Indianapolis, said she was not surprised teachers lack the earning potential of some other professions. In Indiana, construction workers make an average of $36,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, while professionals in scientific or technical services make an average of $45,000, and company or business managers make an average of $69,000."You go into the field knowing that already," Williams said. "You don't do it for the pay. You do it for the love of teaching and knowing you have an impact on kids."Strict comparisons are difficult with other professions because teachers work nine months of the year. Many take other jobs during the summer, and some work part-time jobs during the school year to supplement their income.But many also use their time off to earn advanced degrees.Salaries make up the vast majority of a school district's budget, and Clark said the General Assembly's belt-tightening, which has slowed the growth of school funding, has made it more difficult to give teachers raises.Also, Clark said, the national recession hit Indiana hard and the recovery has been slow.The NEA's salary ranking process invites some criticism.John Ellis, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, said comparisons by state are difficult because teachers' benefits aren't taken into account.Some states -- such as Michigan, whose average salary of $56,973 ranks fourth -- opt not to participate in Social Security for teachers. As a result, Ellis said, salaries there are higher.Indiana does have a competitiveness problem, he said. He sees the teacher retirement system, which he said falls short of those in other states, as the main liability. The system is less generous than in some states, and it takes longer for workers to qualify for payouts.Another issue that clouds the NEA rankings is cost of living differences among states. Indianapolis has the most affordable housing market in the country, according to one recent report, so $46,591 goes further here.Of the 10 states with the highest average salaries, eight are among the most expensive places to live, including Connecticut and California.Star reporters Kim L. Hooper and Staci Hupp contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Jon Murray at (317) 444-2710.Copyright 2005 IndyStar.com. All rights reservedI know a lot of Indiana teachers. My mother-in-law and father-in-law are both teachers. I like teachers. I think teachers are important and I think it is a job that should be paid a fair wage.

My wife and I have talked about teacher's salary's a lot.

Here is an interesting experiment for you. Go and do this google search and see what you get:"Indiana+salary+average+2004"

5 of the first 10 hits I get are for teachers which is incredible. There is a lot of research about how much they are paid.

Based on my experience I feel that teachers are OVERPAID. Let me give you some personal examples.

My wife went to college and got a four year degree in International Business. She then spent several years working as both an accountant and a bookkeeper. She went back to school and got an additional certificate in accounting. (My wife has 149 credit college credit hours). She got her license and became a certified public accountant. She spent some time working for three different CPA firms doing various tasks including travelling and doing auditing. Now she runs her own business.

One of her best friends went to college and got a degree in education. Her friend got out of college and became a public school teacher in Indiana. She went back to school and got her Masters Degree. Their entire careers the following has been true:

Both have about the same education levelBoth have to have about the same amount of continuing education

Which one has been paid a higher salary EVERY year (We are looking at 14 years)? The teacher. Amazing when you consider:

The teacher has ALWAYS had:Much better benefits of every kind including retirement, medical, etc.Has always worked fewer hours. On average the teacher works about 25% less hours.

So you ask, why do the teachers make so much?

There is one main reason. The teachers unions are extremely large and powerful.

Do not get me wrong, teachers should make a good wage. I really do think they should. That being said, keep in mind a teacher works 25% less then most other jobs, has better benefits then almost every comparable job in Indiana, and rarely has to work overtime or holidays. Teachers have a very good deal.

I think the comment about teachers salary's not keeping up with inflation is the funniest. No one's salary' is keeping up with inflation. Most of us work at jobs that are CUTTING benefits (Especially health and retirement). When is the last time your heard a school board propose cutting teacher's benefits or wages because we need to show some compassion for the porperty tax payers because their expenses are going up faster then their income?

Property taxes are projected to increase ABOUT 10% across Indiana this year; almost entirely due to schools. Let's show some compassion for the rest of us...

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

The anniversary of the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 is a day that has some special meaning to me.

I was stationed at Pearl Harbor for almost four years while I was in The United States Navy.Hawaii is a peaceful place and many Sunday mornings I would look up into the sky and try to imagine hundreds of hostile Japanese warplanes diving out of the sky to kill the unwitting sailors, marines, airmen, and civilians at Pearl Harbor. I always had a hard time imagining the scenario as it must have played out.

This attack killed 2403 American servicemen who were voluntarily serving their country and who had no idea they were about to be attacked. This attack roused our nation to arms. This attack 68 innocent civilians who had never commanded a hostile act towards Japan.

This is a history lesson that I hope no one in America forgets. We must always be vigilant and have the means to protect ourselves from foreign aggressors.

I am afraid that a lot of Americans have forgotten this key point.

I am not a war monger nor do I believe that The Pentagon is spending my tax money wisely; I have served in the military, I know how very wasteful they are.

America needs to remember its past and continue to work hard and be ready to defend ourselves from foreign aggressors as needed.

The results of my first online poll are in. Each person was only allowed to vote once. We had:26 Votes for Eastern time. (46%)31 Votes for Central time. (54%)

These results are certainly not scientific; however, they are interesting. I believe that the state is split about half and half on this issue. I would have expected this poll to result in people being in favor of eastern time since most of the people who come to this blog are from the Fort Wayne area.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Miami police announced Monday they will stage random shows of force at hotels, banks and other public places to keep terrorists guessing and remind people to be vigilant.

Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez said officers might, for example, surround a bank building, check the IDs of everyone going in and out and hand out leaflets about terror threats.

"This is an in-your-face type of strategy. It's letting the terrorists know we are out there," Fernandez said.

The operations will keep terrorists off guard, Fernandez said. He said al-Qaida and other terrorist groups plot attacks by putting places under surveillance and watching for flaws and patterns in security.

Police Chief John Timoney said there was no specific, credible threat of an imminent terror attack in Miami. But he said the city has repeatedly been mentioned in intelligence reports as a potential target.

Timoney also noted that 14 of the 19 hijackers who took part in the Sept. 11 attacks lived in South Florida at various times and that other alleged terror cells have operated in the area.

Both uniformed and plainclothes police will ride buses and trains, while others will conduct longer-term surveillance operations.

"People are definitely going to notice it," Fernandez said. "We want that shock. We want that awe. But at the same time, we don't want people to feel their rights are being threatened. We need them to be our eyes and ears."

Howard Simon, executive director of ACLU of Florida, said the Miami initiative appears aimed at ensuring that people's rights are not violated.

"What we're dealing with is officers on street patrol, which is more effective and more consistent with the Constitution," Simon said. "We'll have to see how it is implemented."

Mary Ann Viverette, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said the Miami program is similar to those used for years during the holiday season to deter criminals at busy places such as shopping malls.

"You want to make your presence known and that's a great way to do it," said Viverette, police chief in Gaithersburg, Md. "We want people to feel they can go about their normal course of business, but we want them to be aware."

You have to wonder what the Miami police are doing! Surrounding a bank and forcing everyone to show ID. They think this will stop terrorism?

You have got to be kidding me.

I like and support the police departments all over this fine nation; however, this seems every bit as silly as random seat belt checks.

I have an idea for the police, go and chase criminals. Solve all of the unsolved crimes in your area if you are bored, better yet, go out and serve the MILLIONS of outstanding arrest warrents in this nation...

Or here is another idea, take all of the overtime tax money that we waste on the police department doing random seat belt checks and put all of this money into a fund to build more prisons. Then, after these prisons are built, make it so inmates no longer have to serve ONE HALF of their original sentences!

Monday, November 28, 2005

The County Assessor's office has provided me with some information regarding assessed real estate values in The NACS School district from the last several years.

I am not yet ready to comment on them as I have to perform some more research.

I have added a column to see what has happened to the rate changed over the last few years.

I had to convert the data so that we are comparing "apples" to "apples."

The way that property values are assessed has been changed. In the 98/99, 99/00, and 00/01 school years the properties were assessed at 1/3 of market value. So to compensate for this I multiplied the assessed value x 3 and I divided the listed tax rate by 3.

The large jump in the 02/03 year is due to the Statewide Re-assessment.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

I have contacted the County Assessor and I am gathering information on The Northwest Allen County Schools from the last five years.

I am getting the TOTAL assessed value of all taxable real estate within Northwest Allen County Schools for the last five years. This will let me calculate how much the assessed property values in this school district have changed over the last five years. I believe that the assessed values in this school district have increased by a large amount; that is a lot of the reason why I am deadset against NACS jacking up the Property Tax rate all the time.

Friday, November 25, 2005

I have decided to try posting a couple of polls in the next few weeks and see what kind of results I get. The polls will remain on the site for one week. Each person can only vote in the poll one time.

These polls are not scientific, I am just interested in knowing what people think!

Please feel free to pass on these polls to others and to post links to them on your blogs.

My first poll is about the Indiana Time zone issue. I am of the personal opinion that this issue should be decided by the voters and NOT by our politicians. That is just a personal opinion...

For a statewide referendum to be binding we would actually have to change The Indiana Constitution.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

I spent some time down at The Allen County Election Board yesterday and I have been researching some of the decisions my School District has made recently. I have decided that I will run for Northwest Allen County School Board in 2006. I cannot file the paperwork to run until January of 2006; but, I have just started planning for the campaign.

My daughter will start Kindergarten in the fall of 2006 at Northwest Allen County Schools. My wife and I plan on living in the house we are currently living in for at least 20 more years and my children (Kayla is currently 4 and Graydon is almost 3) will be attending Northwest Allen County Schools K-12. I am concerned with the direction the school system is going and I have decided to run for School Board.

Earlier this year the School District decided to raise our property taxes by 14% in one year to pay for school expansion. They increased taxes in an area that is rapidly growing and has a rapidly growing tax base. The scary thing is the fact that they stated that "Property Tax payers can expect future increases similar to this in future years."

What an appalling decision. Our schools need to educate our children and our Public School system is in need of change. Spending more money is NOT the answer.

According to The Indiana Department of Education itself, Indiana is now spending MORE then twice as much per child per year (Adjusted for inflation) as we did in 1981. It was almost exactly double last year, it is still going up. There seems to be no end in sight. Our property taxes keep SKYROCKETING and we hear "It is for the children."

That is just not true. As we spend more money the quality of our education has declined. My children are better served if my property taxes are lower so that I can spend more money on my children, not so that the schools can turn around and spend my money for me.

Since 1981 our schools have NOT improved, they have gotten worse. This is proved by every educational statistic I could find that is put out by the government. Every single statistic says that our schools have degraded since 1981...

The only logical conclusion I think people can draw is that spending more money is not the answer; unfortunately, this is NOT the conclusion that Northwest Allen County Schools has drawn.

There are several points that I will run for Northwest Allen County School Board on:1. Property Taxes should only be increased to compensate for inflation. 2. Respect and Personal Responsibility are what we need in our school system. We need to change the system so that the following groups of people are held accountable for our school system: a. The students themselves have to have some responsibility for their actions. b. The parents must have some responsibility for their children's performance. c. The teachers must have some responsibility for their students performance. d. The school administration must have some responsibility for the overall performance of their schools. All of these points are common sense; unfortunately, these actions have not been taken.3. We need to look for ways to cut the costs of our educational system in the Northwest Allen County Schools. We need to audit our books and look at ways we can save money. The costs of education are too high and need to be reduced.4. We need to show compassion for property owners and ensure that they are living in a district with a high quality school system AND that they are paying a reasonable amount in property taxes; currently, we are paying far more then we should be in property taxes.5. We need to ensure that The School Board audits the Schools books and controls runaway spending.

The people I really feel sorry for are those people (And there are a lot of them in this school district) who feel that their children can be better educated by private schools or home schooled. These parents pay for the public system and they pay for the private system.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Libertarians hold many different views. I am going to do my best to BRIEFLY tell you what a Libertarian beleives in:

1. We believe in a small and less intrusive government. 2. We believe in personal responsibility. We think people must be held accountable for their own actions.3. We believe in The Constitution as it was written over two hundred years ago.4. We believe that individuals should have the freedom to make their own choices and that the government should not make those choices for you; however, you should be held accountable for those decisions you make.

I think that many Americans hold these views. Please take the time to learn more about The Allen County Libertarian Party!

I will see many of you tonight at the November meeting of The Libertarian Party of Allen County. The officials business meeting starts at 8 PM. The meeting will be held at The Munchie Emporium on Dupont Road as normal!

Saturday, November 19, 2005

I hope to see you at the Fort Wayne Small Business Conference on Saturday!

The Second Regional Small Business Conference will be held at Don Hall’s Guesthouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana (1313 W. Washington Center Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46825, website for Hotel is http://www.donhalls.com/site/guesthouse/default.aspx.) The conference will occur on Saturday November 19th, 2005. Rooms can be rented for $69 a night if you mention that you are affiliated with The Libertarian Party event being held on November 19th.

There will be an informal meeting and dinner on Friday night at Don Hall’s restaurant. We will reserve a large table and each person will pay their own tab. We will meet at 7 PM and spend a couple of hours eating, drinking, and brainstorming.

The conference itself will run from 11 AM until 4 PM on Saturday November 19th. Please make sure you eat before attending the event. The cost for attending the conference is: If paid in advance $15 Paid at the door $20

After the Conference there will be an informal get together at the house of Jack and Hillary Evans. Maps and directions will be provided at the Conference. A large (And I do mean LARGE) dinner will be served. Children are welcome to attend! The party at Jack and Hillary’s house will run from 4:30 until? We will collect donations at the door.

Please feel free to contact Mike Sylvester if you have any questions regarding this event. You can reach Mike at 260-338-0833 or at Mike.Sylvester@Verizon.net.

Conference Schedule and Speakers

11-11:10 Mike Sylvester, Welcome all

11:10 – 11:30 Mark Schreiber, will talk about the history of The Small Business Initiative.

11:30 – 12:00 Ron Reinking, CPA. Ron is a Fort Wayne CPA and will discuss some “Small business horror stories.”

12:15 – 12:45 Mike Sylvester, “Small Business Horror stories” from Indiana CPA’s and small business owners. How we plan on taking advantage of these “Horror Story’s” in Fort Wayne.

12:45 – 13:00 Jason Shelley from The Indiana NFIB will speak. He will discuss the importance of Small Business and he will explain the topics he feels are currently most critical to small business owners in Indiana.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Please go to The Drudge Report and check out this byline:http://www.drudgereport.com/flashch.htmThis report talks about two Senators, one Republican and one Democrat, who have egos so large they need to waste time trying to name government buildings after themselves.

You have got to be kidding me.

We have a large number of problems in this country and these idiots are trying to name buildings after themselves...

Monday, November 14, 2005

As most of you know I am a small government type and I believe in the power of the fifty states.

After reading many of his opinions it appears unlikely that Alito would vote to overturn Roe v Wade.

That sucks.

Roe v Wade should be overturned at once. Abortion should have NEVER been regulated by The Federal government, the very idea is contrary to our constitution...

Each of the fifty states should decide whether abortion is legal or not themselves. This would most likely make it legal in some states, and illegal in other states, I feel this is 100% what the founding fathers intended. They never wanted The Federal Government to dictate policy to the fifty states on issues like abortion...

I general I am pro choice, that being said, it should be up to the States and I overall think abortion is wrong in many cases; but, not all. I am pro choice because I do NOT think it is the governments job to tell potential mother's what they can do...

Monday, November 07, 2005

There is not an election in Indiana tomorrow; but, there is in most of The United States.

Some of the readers of this blog are from states other then Indiana.

Please go out and vote. I think you can make a difference.

In my opinion, our country will soon reach a turning point; I think we all need to do everything we can to elect politicians who will stop America from going down the path we are currently embarked upon.

The Federal debt just went over $8,000,000,000,000 dollars, that is 8 TRILLION dollars.

Depending on whose figures you use the unfunded liabilities in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are between 61 and 75 TRILLION more dollars in the next 75 years.

Something will have to change. We cannot continue to pass on this debt to future generations, we must stop the fiscal insanity.

On social issues we have got to decrease the size of the Feederal government, we have to resotre the rights of the fifty states, and we have to get the government out of every aspect of our lives and businesses!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Colorado has the most powerful TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) in the nation. Currently the state of Colorado can only increase annual government spending by the combination of annual inflation and the annual growth in population. For example, if inflation was 2% last year, and the population of Colorado grew by 2% last year, this would mean that the annual budget can only increase by 4%. Furthermore all unspent tax revenue MUST be returned to the taxpayers.

The only way this can be over-ridden is by a statewide ballot initiaitve. In other words it can only be overturned by the people of the state.

What a great and novel idea!

Unforunately, it looks like the voters of Colorado have given in to the forces of larger government and agreed to let the State spend 3.7 extra billion dollars in the next five year rather then return it to the taxpayers. With 73% of the vote in those in favor of spending the extra money have 53% of the vote and those against only 47%.

It is a sad day in Colorado.

The forces of larger government have won... It looks like they are going to be allowed to spend (I mean waste) more tax money.

At least they had to let the taxpayers in Colorado make this decision.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

I certainly hope that George W. Bush will take the time to locate a person worthy of sitting on The Supreme Court.

I hope he picks a person without consideration of sex or race. I hope he chooses a person who believes in the Constitution as it was written over 200 years ago.

I hope he chooses a person who believes in the rights of the fifty states, not the expansion of The Federal government.

I also hope he ends up choosing a person with a strong judicial record; I do not like these stealth candidates he has been nominating.

If I could pick a person I think I would choose Janice Rogers Brown. She has a lot of Libertarian views and a strong judicial record.

I definitely hope that George W Bush picks a strong conservative and picks a fight with The Democrats in the Senate. One of the reasons why I feel that The Republican Party left me in the mid to late nineties is the way that The Republicans have abandoned fiscal conservatives and the way that they have expanded the powers of The Federal government. They are not willing to fight for the things they promised in 1994. Basically, I think the modern day Republicans are cowardly when it comes to facing down the Democrats.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

I spent six years as a Reactor Operator on a nuclear submarine in the United States Navy. I spent another two years as an equipment operator in a civilian nuclear power plant in Nebraska.

I strongly believe that nuclear power is a good source of energy and is safe. The nuclear power industry has been nearly destroyed by the United States government and its excessive regulations. The regulations are so oppressive that I decided to make a career change in 1998. I do not think we will ever complete a new nuclear power plant in The United States.

The government has undermined nuclear power in two different ways.The first way is through excessive levels of government regulation. The nuclear power plant I worked at (The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station) is a perfect example. In 1978 (Before Three Mile Island) the plant employed about 80 people, mostly equipment operators and security guards. The plant was operated in a safe and efficient manner.

Today, that same plant employs about 550 people. The plant makes the same amount of power today that it did in 1978, it just costs a whole lot more to produce that power. The plant hired about 470 people just to comply with government regulations after Three Mile Island.

The second problem is dealing with nuclear waste in the form of spent fuel rods. These fuel rods are radioactive and must be safely disposed of. The United States government decided to tax all consumers of nuclear power in the country and collect enough money so the government could fund and build a disposal facility. The Nuclear Waste Fund was created in 1982. One tenth of a cent was charged for each kWh of electricity produced at a nuclear power plant. By 1992 the government had collected enough tax revenue to build a “state of the art” disposal facility. Eventually, due to pressure from the Utility industry, the government finally agreed to build the facility by Jan 31, 1998 at Yucca Mountain.

Yucca Mountain was not completed in 1998 and approximately sixty lawsuits were filed by the Utility industry and various States against the Federal government for breach of contract. It is estimated these lawsuits could cost the Federal government (taxpayers) as much as fifty billion dollars.

In 2001 the Department of Energy completed a cost study and determined it would cost four and a half billion dollars to build the Yucca Mountain facility. Today, The Nuclear Waste Fund has almost 16 billion dollars. This fund is currently used by Congress to offset a small portion of the annual budget deficit. The nuclear waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain is no where near completion, in fact, Department of Energy officials now openly question whether the facility will be completed by 2010, twelve years after the promised completion date.

Since the disposal facility is not operational nuclear power plants have been forced to store their own spent fuel rods at their own cost. President Bush wants to spur the growth of nuclear power plants. I am all for nuclear power, that being said, President Bush's proposal makes no sense; in fact, it will waste billions of dollars. The new Energy Bill provides almost six and a half billion dollars of subsidies and direct spending to nuclear power generation companies to convince them to build new nuclear power plants. This is absurd. I would suggest The Department of Energy finish Yucca Mountain before it gets involved in building new nuclear power plants.

If we want new nuclear power plants to be constructed we need to minimize government regulation. A new nuclear power plant has not been started since 1973 due to excessive government regulation. The free market should dictate which power generation companies succeed and which ones fail, not the government.We have experience with failed nuclear power plants right here in Indiana. Public Service Indiana proposed The Marble Hill nuclear power plant in 1973 with an estimated cost of 700 million dollars. Construction on the plant began in 1977 and expenses quickly doubled to about 1.4 billion dollars. In 1984 the project was halted and the plant was abandoned. This failed project cost The State of Indiana 2.8 billion dollars.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

The Second Regional Small Business Conference will be held at Don Hall’s Guesthouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana (1313 W. Washington Center Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46825, website for Hotel is http://www.donhalls.com/site/guesthouse/default.aspx.) The conference will occur on Saturday November 19th, 2005. Rooms can be rented for $69 a night if you mention that you are affiliated with The Libertarian Party event being held on November 19th.

There will be an informal meeting and dinner on Friday night at Don Hall’s restaurant. We will reserve a large table and each person will pay their own tab. We will meet at 7 PM and spend a couple of hours eating, drinking, and brainstorming.

The conference itself will run from 11 AM until 4 PM on Saturday November 19th. Please make sure you eat before attending the event. The cost for attending the conference is: If paid in advance $15 Paid at the door $20

After the Conference there will be an informal get together at the house of Jack and Hillary Evans. Maps and directions will be provided at the Conference. A large (And I do mean LARGE) dinner will be served. Children are welcome to attend! The party at Jack and Hillary’s house will run from 4:30 until? We will collect donations at the door.

Please feel free to contact Mike Sylvester if you have any questions regarding this event. You can reach Mike at 260-338-0833 or at Mike.Sylvester@Verizon.net.

Conference Schedule and Speakers

11-11:10 Mike Sylvester, Welcome all

11:10 – 11:30 Mark Schreiber, will talk about the history of The Small Business Initiative.

11:30 – 12:00 Ron Reinking, CPA. Ron is a Fort Wayne CPA and will discuss some “Small business horror stories.”

12:15 – 12:45 Mike Sylvester, “Small Business Horror stories” from Indiana CPA’s and small business owners. How we plan on taking advantage of these “Horror Story’s” in Fort Wayne.

12:45 – 13:00 Jason Shelley from The Indiana NFIB will speak. He will discuss the importance of Small Business and he will explain the topics he feels are currently most critical to small business owners in Indiana.

Monday, October 17, 2005

I spent 10 days in France. This is the second time I have been to France. I spent three days in France in 1999...

I attended several lectures on the French business climate.

One of the most interesting was a seminar on The 35 Hour work week that France adopted. France adopted a maximum 35 hour work week a couple of years ago. Before that, they had a maximum 39 hour work week. The employers have to pay their employees for 40 hours...

This 35 hour work week is helping to further hurt the French economy. Many businesses have left France. They left because of the increased labor costs... Brilliant move...

Believe it or not The French government hoped that by forcing employers to lower their work weeks to 35 hours from 39 hours a week (And still making employers pay the SAME amount in wages) that unemployment would drop. They reasoned that ll French employers would immediately hire about 10% more workers. This did not happen...

Friday, October 14, 2005

I went to a presentation this morning from the main French retailer, it is very similar to Wal Mart.

What is most interesting is they agree that they cannot compete with Wal Mart due to wages. In France they pay huge wages to their retail employees, they are less driven by profit.

The French government pays for all helthcare, they ensure the empolyees have a government protected pension plan, and free education.

An entry level worker in the French store I was visiting this morning makes 16,500 Euros, about 20,000 US dollars... They work only 35 hours per week, they get FIVE weeks of vacation a year PLUS 6 additional personal days. They can earn bonuses of an additional 1.5 months of vacation...

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

I have never been to a country with a more anti-American sentiment in my life. I must admit I am surprised at how much they currently dislike Americans!

Another interesting thing, American and French keyboards are different. They are similar; but, they are different. Typing this is NOT fun.

I think the most interesting thing about France so far is converting money. I came over with some trvellers checks in Euros. NO ONE will accept them. Three small branch banks would not cash them, several stores, bars, etc. We had to go to a MAJOR French bank!

Saturday, October 08, 2005

The #1 defense in the NFL heads to San Fransico tomorrow, and who would have thought I was referring to the Indianapolis Colts? If the offense hits on all cylindars again, and the defense keeps up its stellar performance, it is going to be an awsome game for us Colts fans (not so for those 49er fans out there). I think we will see the offense return to last years' standard, and the defense will hold Frisco to 10 points! Go Colts!

Friday, October 07, 2005

I will be in France for the next 10 days. I am going on a school trip with IPFW to Grenoble.

Grenoble is in the French Alps. It should be a fun trip.

I will be attending some lectures given by some French Professors in a Graduate school in Grenoble, that should be interesting. I hope they do not spout a bunch of Anti-American gibberish, that could get ugly (for them)!

I will be back on Sunday October 16th.

I will be updating my blog from France; however, I doubt that I will be able to update it as often as I generally do

My wife Karena will be making several posts while I am gone. She will most likely post about The Colts...

Doug Horner, Secretary of the Libertarian party of Allen County will be making some posts as well... Who knows what he will be posting about.

I want to wish Mike a fun and safe journey as he heads to France for the next ten days! Our four year old daughter does not know what she is going to do without her Daddy, but I am sure she will surrvive! We love you and we will miss you!

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Last year I calculated the average cost per student that is spent to educate each student in Indiana from K-12. The results were staggering.

Some of the estimates have been updated; so I have decided to update my calculations and include links in case you wish to go and check these statistics for yourself.

Start with this link: http://mustang.doe.state.in.us/TRENDS/trends1.cfm?var=curr

This link is to a summary page that is maintained by The Indiana Department of Education. Please pay particular attention to the bar graph at the top. What this chart shows is that real spending on education PER STUDENT in Indiana has DOUBLED in the last twenty two years.

For the 2003/2004 school year (The most current data The State of Indiana Department of Education has bothered to compile) the average cost per student is listed at $9033 per student per year. This is a staggering number. This is the number Mitch Daniels used in his State of the State speech early this year.

This number is wrong. Please read the note at the bottom of the graph "Current Expenditure is as defined by the Federal Government and does not include capitol outlay or debt service."

In other words, they did NOT include the interest we are paying on all of the loans and bonds that are in place to support the schools and this $9033 per student per year does NOT count Capital Outlays, for example, new schools.

The next part is much harder to find. I am assuming this data is hard to locate because there are various school districts spread out all across Indiana and they all have their own bonds and loans.

I used statistics from the National Education Association. These are once again estimated numbers for the 2003-2004 school year.

We had 1,010,000 students. We spent $1,025,576,000 on capital outlays. This works out to $1026 per student.

We spent $835,795,000 on interest payments. This works out to $836 per student.

So the total estimated cost for the 2003/2004 school year per student is 9003 + 1026 + 836 = $10,865.

Wow.

Remember that The Education Roundtable just admitted that even though The State of Indiana has been claiming graduation rates of over 90%, those graduation rates are much lower, most likely around 75%. What if the estimates on school spending are off by the same amount?

Monday, October 03, 2005

I am NOT surprised that President Bush appointed another person to The Supreme Court that has no track record.

I think that this is going to be a VERY interesting Supreme Court battle.

I expect to see the far left Democrats and the far right Republicans both oppose this pick. I expect that the "moderates" in both parties will vote for her. My guess is she will get on The Supreme Court easily.

I think this is going to hurt The Republicans in the 2006 election. President Bush "PROMISED" to appoint serious conservatives to The Supreme Court; he has failed to do this.

Friday, September 30, 2005

--Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS -1895 Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications. 3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of"lie,""play," and "run."5. Define case; Illustrate each case.6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation. 7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic. 2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals? 5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per metre?8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent. 9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas. 6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals 4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' 5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup. 8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays. 10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas? 3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?4. Describe the mountains of North America5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco. 6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers. 10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?! Also shows you how poor our education system has become... and, NO! I don't have the answers

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